Hey all, so I have quite a few ideas for Spirit Bonds. I'll only post one for now, but depending how this goes, I might post some others in this thread, so I don't keep making new ones. So without further ado, I give you UW Spirit Bonds flyover!
Left the manabase out because I'm lazy and it's all pretty standard at this point, shocks, confluence, basics. What does everyone think? Also, what other directions do you think this could go?
I kinda want to try this in WB, with all the 2/1's they have, or maybe junk to give some card draw. I like Quickling though. Maybe a sub constellation theme? Hopeful Eidolon is pretty boss
Looks pretty sweet to me! My only question is why Mizzium Skin? And why only 3 Spirit Bonds? Half of the bonus of Spirit Bonds is being able to use it to protect your guys. Also for the W/B guy, run High Priest of Penance. Making him indestructible seems exactly where you want to be.
This card just seems like pure value in Ephara aggro, giving me a large field of flyers that protect cards like brimaz from removal while drawing cards if Ephara is in play. Goes a long way to not over extending vs control decks.
Makes me wish Mentor of the Meek was reprinted in M15 too (with Ranger of Eos! lol!). I feel like this deck doesnt want much over 3 mana if that, and needs a good way to keep drawing gas- Ephara might be ok for that
I love the card, but I'm uncertain what type of deck is best for it. White Weenie is naturally the first thing people think of, but I'm not sure that's correct. The card is quite a mana sink and aggro can be tight for mana. At the very least, I think you would need some good anthems to make the most of it in a WW setup.
Wheeny is the obvious direction to take it, but I'm thinking it might best placed in a bant midrange deck. Carytids, coursers and perhaps some mana elves can make sure the tokens get out reliabled, then you can start dropping archangels of thune, polukronos, hydras or whatever that are going to be very hard to kill with your decent size army of spirit protectors.
So I was playing with Prophet of Kruphix until i found this thread, and I found Spirit Bonds with Quickling a really fun combo so I started brewing with it. I really like the idea of fliers and every deck needs card advantage, so here is "Bant Fliers"
Simic Charm is the best charm this deck can run because the deck uses every mode. Pump your guy to for the last few points of damage, hexproof to stop removal, and either bounce my guy to save him or bounce your guy to essentially Time Walk.
Bident of Thassa basically speaks for itself; play fliers, hit with fliers, draw cards.
The main problem that I have with the deck is not drawing the right color land and creatures sometimes, which im still playing with the numbers. Also the sideboard is a little unrefined.
Thought this might be decent with Strength From the Fallen in a junk enchantment list. I have a feeling I'm missing some glaringly obvious cards here. I removed Pharika cuz I felt she was counterproductive to SFtF, despite being great with constellation effects. Athreos I similarily took out, but am going to try to squeeze two back in. Just thought he might slow down SFtF
I really like this deck idea! Personally I would take out some of the "non-sense"/combo cards from the list and make this an evasive aggro deck. With the addition of the M15 flyers it really is possible. Cards like Warden of Evos Isle and Path of Bravery aren't really necessary. The Warden makes your other flyers cheaper at the cost of playing a subpar creature; plus, your creatures are already cheap. Path and other cards alike are just chaff that will muddle up the deck from actually putting on fast pressure. I put together a list that is very close to the original, just with a couple of variations.
Daring Skyjek is basically a 3/1 flyer in a deck like this. Oppressive Rays is nearly a 1 mana Doomblade. Azorius Charm has a lot of utility; if your opponent lands a flyer you can make them redraw it, if your opponent is aggro, the lifegain will be huge, and at words its a cantrip. As far as the Bident goes, Military Intelligence will do close the amount of work with half the mana and half the risk; you're never going to activate the Bident's ability so I'd just stick with the 2 mana enchantment. You could run more Faerie Imposters if you felt Spirit Bonds and other cards were consistent enough, but I simply have it in there as a 5th Quickling. Also, the OG list only had room form 20 lands, and I'd run 22. Anyways, lemme know what you think about the subtle changes...
@Ashk'rya: I have also considered a similar build adding red for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Ogre Battledriver. You would also get access to some decent removal/reach in the form of Lighning Strike and Shock, not to mention in that shell, we'd have more lands, so Warleader's Helix may be viable here as well, as well as Boros Charm, which is a MUCH better Mizzium Skin. Also, solid lists; honestly, I hadn't even considered the possibilities this enchantment adds for constellation decks. Eidolon of Countless Battles seems hilarious to throw on a spirit and then getting another spirit when it dies; now THAT'S value!
@Luck: I was running Mizzium Skin as a sometimes bad combat trick that also protects my team from targeted removal for 2. It has performed VERY subpar. I'm not sure what I want instead, though. I feel cards like Ephemereal Shield and Ajani's Presence are going to be similarly bad, as they are just too reactive and not proactive enough. Also, just 3 Spirit Bonds because I was wary of drawing too many bonds and not enough creatures or other actions, which was a real problem during testing. I think I went less enchantments and/or anthems for more action, though I'm not sure what exactly.
@AlexTomarelli: Ephara, God of the Polis could be HUGE value here, not only giving us the extra spirits from Spirit Bonds, but everything becomes a cantrip as well. This could be especially powerful with red, as Purphoros, God of the Forge also turns every creature into a shock. The more I think about it, the more appealing adding red looks...
@Anamaniac: I agree that Aetherspouts is a powerful one sided sweep in some cases, though we would probably need to run a bit more mana to cast a 5 cmc spell. Also, it turns out Path of Bravery ended up being the weakest anthem of the bunch. I do like the more streamlined version of the deck otherwise, though. Illusory Angel does have me a bit skeptical, however.
@Bafflement: I am currently testing a WW build with it. Possibly more on that later.
@somekidonfire: I like the artifact twist you're taking there, to try to maximize early damage with Ensoul Artifact. I do have some reservations about adding cards like Negate, however, as it is a reactive card by nature and that kind of interferes with our proactive plan, not to mention Spirit Bonds is supposed to protect us from most removal anyway. What else are we negating? I'm not saying it's wrong, just a bit different. Could end up being the right way to go.
@deeviant0110: Sounds fun, though I'm not entirely sure how I would build that list.
@Hrimfisk: I like the addition of green for Drakewing Krasis and Simic Charm, which is a very tempo-ey card and that might be just what this deck is in the market for. Lavinia of the Tenth looks really good in the side, I'm just a bit worried about that 5 cmc in a deck with not too many lands, but if you can keep bouncing her, that is one heck of a beating for a lot of decks. Even mono-black has demon, rat and connections... hmmm, maybe we're onto something there... Seems a consensus is forming that Oppressive Rays might just be enough tempo to really make this deck take off...
@RoboReaper: That list looks pretty fun, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Chasm Skulker, how is he performing for you?
@a_lot: You caught onto what testing has shown me: namely that Warden of Evos Isle and Path of Bravery are simply "too cute". Illusory Angel also grossly underperformed, as I found myself just wanting to cast other things on time and not waiting to cast her and something else, usually it just ended up being wasting a Mizzium Skin to cast her, which was pretty gross. Maybe I wasn't playing right, I'm not entirely sure, but I think this deck shines when it moves as fast as possible. All in all, I'd be glad to cut her. Alright, I'm sold on Azorius Charm and Oppresive Rays. Agreed on Bident being too clunky as well. I think 2 Military Intelligence is correct, but man did I draw that a lot with no action. Faerie Impostor is nice, but doesn't save our dudes from removal and combat tricks, etc. Still, it might be worth running as an additional bounce. I also considered Peel from Reality. Bouncing is always nice for tempo, and even though we bounce our own dude and lose tempo, this could mean additional value for us in the long run. Loyal Pegasus has had me a bit worried, as often, it just can't swing until turn 3. It is a nice curve into Faerie Impostor, but I'm thinking we may have better one drops; maybe Judge's Familiar or Triton Shorestalker or even Soldier of the Pantheon. I am a bit wary of Daring Skyjek for similar reasons. Not to mention, both can just be left on the board alone, so that's just one less card your opponent has to spend to stop your pressure.
Sorry I haven't been super active for the past week in this thread, deep in the lab and life and all that, hope all this discussion continues, I'm loving all the feedback! Hopefully I didn't miss anyone or anything.
i tried to exclude RTR because that will rotate in 3 months or so.
Dont count RTR block out just yet! Summer magic is a thing and there are just as many events as any set release. Wait until we get into spoiler season to start swapping out RTR cars for KTK cards, there are still plenty of brewing opportunities with M15 in the card pool.
Any thoughts on Deputy of Acquittals before it rotates?
That would give you 8 flash bounce effects that you could wait to play. the combat shenanigans, ephara... would be funny (unless facing trample).
the Faerie Imposter and you could Hall of Triumph for blue along with Spear.
Just thinking. Spirit Bonds and Deputy in play.
Casting Devouring Light, can you tap the Deputy, flash in Quickling, get the 1/1 spirit and tap both to finish casting of Devouring Light?
for convoke you need to have all creatures on the field. you cant flash in a creature halve way casting a convoke spell
You can't cast a spell while paying convoke costs, but what you can do is flash out Quickling, make a spirit, and in response to the bounce trigger, cast devouring light.
I have some ideas with this deck concept that I'll post in a bit.
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4x Cloudfin Raptor
4x Quickling
4x Lyev Skyknight
2x Welkin Tern
2x Vaporkin
3x Warden of Evos Isle
1x Bident of Thassa
2x Military Intelligence
1x Hall of Triumph
1x Spear of Heliod
1x Path of Bravery
4x Mizzium Skin
4x Illusory Angel
3x Spirit Bonds
Left the manabase out because I'm lazy and it's all pretty standard at this point, shocks, confluence, basics. What does everyone think? Also, what other directions do you think this could go?
Also think red splash would be good for Iroas and/or Ogre Battledriver
4x Cloudfin Raptor
4x Quickling
4x Lyev Skyknight
2x Welkin Tern
2x Vaporkin
4x Warden of Evos Isle
3x Illusory Angel
4x Military Intelligence
3x Path of Bravery
4x Spirit Bonds
I'd also want some Ætherspouts in the sideboard, as non-flying aggro decks could be faster than you.
4x Darksteel Citadel
7x Island
7x Plains
4x Ornithopter
4x Loyal Pegasus
4x Triton Shorestalker
4x Vaporkin
3x Illusory Angel
2x Spirit Bonds
3x Military Intelligence
2x Negate
2x Oppressive Rays
4x Raise the Alarm
1x Ajani Steadfast
4 Cloudfin Raptor
3 Drakewing Krasis
2 Ephara, God of the Polis
4 Lyev Skynight
4 Quickling
4 Vaporkin
1 Welkin Tern
4 Warden of Evos Isle
Noncreatures:
2 Oppressive Rays
4 Spirit Bonds
3 Simic Charm
2 Bident of Thassa
4 Breeding Pool
4 Hallowed Fountain
4 Temple Garden
4 Temple of Enlightenment
2 Temple of Mystery
1 Temple of Plenty
4 Island
1 Lavinia of the Tenth
3 Nyx-Fleece Ram
1 Scavenging Ooze
2 Detention Sphere
2 Oppresive Rays
3 Back to Nature
3 Dispel
At first glance a few cards seem really off, namely Simic Charm and Oppressive Rays, however these cards actually help the raw power of the deck.
Oppressive Rays deals with the early game fliers that make it hard for you to get damage through or fatties they ramped into(Nightveil Specter, Desecration Demon, Polukranos, Arbor Colossus) or it makes utility creatures harder to use(Yisan, the Wanderer Bard, Kiora's Follower, Deathrite Shaman) letting you bash in with fliers for more damage.
Simic Charm is the best charm this deck can run because the deck uses every mode. Pump your guy to for the last few points of damage, hexproof to stop removal, and either bounce my guy to save him or bounce your guy to essentially Time Walk.
Bident of Thassa basically speaks for itself; play fliers, hit with fliers, draw cards.
The main problem that I have with the deck is not drawing the right color land and creatures sometimes, which im still playing with the numbers. Also the sideboard is a little unrefined.
4 Gnarled Scarhide
4 Underworld Coinsmith
4 Herald of Torment
4 Eidolon of Countless Battles
4 Eidolon of Blossoms
4 Spirit Bonds
2 Ethereal Armor
3 Unflinching Courage
4 Temple Garden
4 Godless Shrine
4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Mana Confluence
2 Temple of Malady
2 Temple of Plenty
3 Temple of Silence
Thought this might be decent with Strength From the Fallen in a junk enchantment list. I have a feeling I'm missing some glaringly obvious cards here. I removed Pharika cuz I felt she was counterproductive to SFtF, despite being great with constellation effects. Athreos I similarily took out, but am going to try to squeeze two back in. Just thought he might slow down SFtF
4 Herald of Torment
4 Hopeful Eidolon
4 Underworld Coinsmith
4 Gnarled Scarhide
4 Eidolon of Countless Battles
3 Athreos, God of Passage
4 Spiteful Returned
3 Brain Maggot
4 Ethereal Armor
4 Pacifism
Lands
4 Godless Shrine
4 Temple of Silence
7 Plains
7 Swamp
WB list, pretty fun. ONE THING of note, Eidolon of Countless Battles is AWESOME with spirit bonds...
3 Daring Skyjek
1 Faerie Imposter
3 Illusionary Angel
2 Liev Skyknight
4 Loyal Pegasus
4 Quickling
3 Vaporkin
2 Welkin Tern
1 Ajani Steadfast
2 Military Intelligence
2 Oppressive Rays
2 Spirit Bonds
Daring Skyjek is basically a 3/1 flyer in a deck like this. Oppressive Rays is nearly a 1 mana Doomblade. Azorius Charm has a lot of utility; if your opponent lands a flyer you can make them redraw it, if your opponent is aggro, the lifegain will be huge, and at words its a cantrip. As far as the Bident goes, Military Intelligence will do close the amount of work with half the mana and half the risk; you're never going to activate the Bident's ability so I'd just stick with the 2 mana enchantment. You could run more Faerie Imposters if you felt Spirit Bonds and other cards were consistent enough, but I simply have it in there as a 5th Quickling. Also, the OG list only had room form 20 lands, and I'd run 22. Anyways, lemme know what you think about the subtle changes...
@Ashk'rya: I have also considered a similar build adding red for Purphoros, God of the Forge and Ogre Battledriver. You would also get access to some decent removal/reach in the form of Lighning Strike and Shock, not to mention in that shell, we'd have more lands, so Warleader's Helix may be viable here as well, as well as Boros Charm, which is a MUCH better Mizzium Skin. Also, solid lists; honestly, I hadn't even considered the possibilities this enchantment adds for constellation decks. Eidolon of Countless Battles seems hilarious to throw on a spirit and then getting another spirit when it dies; now THAT'S value!
@Luck: I was running Mizzium Skin as a sometimes bad combat trick that also protects my team from targeted removal for 2. It has performed VERY subpar. I'm not sure what I want instead, though. I feel cards like Ephemereal Shield and Ajani's Presence are going to be similarly bad, as they are just too reactive and not proactive enough. Also, just 3 Spirit Bonds because I was wary of drawing too many bonds and not enough creatures or other actions, which was a real problem during testing. I think I went less enchantments and/or anthems for more action, though I'm not sure what exactly.
@AlexTomarelli: Ephara, God of the Polis could be HUGE value here, not only giving us the extra spirits from Spirit Bonds, but everything becomes a cantrip as well. This could be especially powerful with red, as Purphoros, God of the Forge also turns every creature into a shock. The more I think about it, the more appealing adding red looks...
@Anamaniac: I agree that Aetherspouts is a powerful one sided sweep in some cases, though we would probably need to run a bit more mana to cast a 5 cmc spell. Also, it turns out Path of Bravery ended up being the weakest anthem of the bunch. I do like the more streamlined version of the deck otherwise, though. Illusory Angel does have me a bit skeptical, however.
@Bafflement: I am currently testing a WW build with it. Possibly more on that later.
@somekidonfire: I like the artifact twist you're taking there, to try to maximize early damage with Ensoul Artifact. I do have some reservations about adding cards like Negate, however, as it is a reactive card by nature and that kind of interferes with our proactive plan, not to mention Spirit Bonds is supposed to protect us from most removal anyway. What else are we negating? I'm not saying it's wrong, just a bit different. Could end up being the right way to go.
@deeviant0110: Sounds fun, though I'm not entirely sure how I would build that list.
@Hrimfisk: I like the addition of green for Drakewing Krasis and Simic Charm, which is a very tempo-ey card and that might be just what this deck is in the market for. Lavinia of the Tenth looks really good in the side, I'm just a bit worried about that 5 cmc in a deck with not too many lands, but if you can keep bouncing her, that is one heck of a beating for a lot of decks. Even mono-black has demon, rat and connections... hmmm, maybe we're onto something there... Seems a consensus is forming that Oppressive Rays might just be enough tempo to really make this deck take off...
@RoboReaper: That list looks pretty fun, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Chasm Skulker, how is he performing for you?
@a_lot: You caught onto what testing has shown me: namely that Warden of Evos Isle and Path of Bravery are simply "too cute". Illusory Angel also grossly underperformed, as I found myself just wanting to cast other things on time and not waiting to cast her and something else, usually it just ended up being wasting a Mizzium Skin to cast her, which was pretty gross. Maybe I wasn't playing right, I'm not entirely sure, but I think this deck shines when it moves as fast as possible. All in all, I'd be glad to cut her. Alright, I'm sold on Azorius Charm and Oppresive Rays. Agreed on Bident being too clunky as well. I think 2 Military Intelligence is correct, but man did I draw that a lot with no action. Faerie Impostor is nice, but doesn't save our dudes from removal and combat tricks, etc. Still, it might be worth running as an additional bounce. I also considered Peel from Reality. Bouncing is always nice for tempo, and even though we bounce our own dude and lose tempo, this could mean additional value for us in the long run. Loyal Pegasus has had me a bit worried, as often, it just can't swing until turn 3. It is a nice curve into Faerie Impostor, but I'm thinking we may have better one drops; maybe Judge's Familiar or Triton Shorestalker or even Soldier of the Pantheon. I am a bit wary of Daring Skyjek for similar reasons. Not to mention, both can just be left on the board alone, so that's just one less card your opponent has to spend to stop your pressure.
Sorry I haven't been super active for the past week in this thread, deep in the lab and life and all that, hope all this discussion continues, I'm loving all the feedback! Hopefully I didn't miss anyone or anything.
Dont count RTR block out just yet! Summer magic is a thing and there are just as many events as any set release. Wait until we get into spoiler season to start swapping out RTR cars for KTK cards, there are still plenty of brewing opportunities with M15 in the card pool.
That would give you 8 flash bounce effects that you could wait to play. the combat shenanigans, ephara... would be funny (unless facing trample).
the Faerie Imposter and you could Hall of Triumph for blue along with Spear.
Turn to Frog, Devouring Light to take care of their creatures. Yours hardly die.
EDIT:
Just thinking. Spirit Bonds and Deputy in play.
Casting Devouring Light, can you tap the Deputy, flash in Quickling, get the 1/1 spirit and tap both to finish casting of Devouring Light?
You can't cast a spell while paying convoke costs, but what you can do is flash out Quickling, make a spirit, and in response to the bounce trigger, cast devouring light.
I have some ideas with this deck concept that I'll post in a bit.